It is welling up...2009 Here we come!

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OK, I am officially INCREDIBLY EXCITED about where CCF is headed for 2009! All day, I have began working on a ministry map or plan for the coming year. I have began sketching plans for messages, themes, budget, staffing, ministries, calendar, etc...and the excitement has intensified. It is welling up!

I told the staff yesterday that it felt like we spent 6 months this year vision casting and vision casting and vision casting. Then, we spent the summer planning for the fall. And now, the fall is is underway and because of the good planning and work that went into it, it almost feels like it's in autopilot. We know our Small Group topics, we know where our messages are headed and we are just living it out! I am VERY PLEASED with what I am seeing so far this fall. People are buying in!

Now (just in the last few weeks), I feel like I can really begin to think about direction for the coming year and it is thrilling! I love this stuff. I love forward thinking and dreaming. Sensing that 2009 will be a year of stability and letting our purpose take deeper root in our hearts. We need to live in this now! No big changes in ministry model or direction. Just living the vision and letting it take hold. That's the name of the game for 2009. Look forward to seeing people increase in their love for God, for people and their journey in discipleship! Sound Familiar?

--Pastor Noah

Can you help spread the word?

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There are 2 things coming up very quickly that I really want people to know about. Can you help me spread the word?

Discovery 101
This Sunday, 9/21 12:30-2:30
Tell any new folks you know about!

Men of Purity Weekend
Next Friday, 9/26 7pm-9pm & Saturday 9/27 9am-12pm
at Trinity Assembly of God in Lanham
Tell every man you know! They can get more info at church on Sunday.

Healthy Church Culture

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Marks of healthy church culture (first for the ones that are more commonly mentioned and expected):

  • Biblical. Church culture clearly communicates a focus on scripture in teaching, preaching, programs, ministries and living!
  • Christ-centered. Jesus is known as the center and builder of the church. It is His work and mission, not ours! We are trying to help him accomplish it!
  • Worshiping. Genuine worship is commonplace in services, events, and programs, but more importantly in choices and in life!
  • Evangelistic. It is common that conversations revolve around the lost and known across the church that we are here for lost people, just like Jesus was.
  • Discipling. Healthy churches find a balance between getting people and growing people
  • Transformational relationships. Life friendships are being made. Genuine and honest sharing and doing life together.
  • Other obvious things that should be present in every church like prayer, stewardship, exercise of spiritual disciplines, passion for God, the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit, etc.

But, in addition to these staple qualities are other less discussed marks of healthy church culture, that are all biblically based as well, such as:

  • Commitment to the vision/purpose of the church.
  • Trust and submission to leadership.
  • Willingness to confront and live Matthew 18...engaging in honest and healthy church conflict.
  • Openness to correction as iron sharpens iron.
  • Willingness to risk and experiment with new things.
  • Openness to change.
  • Small things can make a big difference and short glimpses and first impressions can last a long time!
  • Irrelevance is irreverence.
  • Empower the next generation (even when it scares you).
  • Embracing that God deserves excellence. Excellence pleases God and inspires people! (If it is worth doing at all, it is worth doing right!)
  • Willing to face the tough topics and talk about the uncomfortable stuff.
  • More interested in the lost, the wounded, the hurting and the poor than the found, the full, the wealthy and the healthy.
  • Understanding that church is not all about us, but about Jesus, His mission and his heart for the lost.
  • Willing to sacrifice my own opinions, comforts and traditions for a greater Godly good.
  • Willingness to let go of the "good" old days (yesterday) for a "GREAT" future (tomorrow).

What other ones can you think of that I have not included? What are other descriptors of healthy church culture? Join in with me. Leave a comment.

Culture

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Just like any nation or people group, I believe that every company, organization, church and even family has a culture. Culture, as I am using it, is defined by Webster as shared beliefs, values, behaviors and attitudes. It's the way we talk, the things we do, what is permissible and what is not, how we think, how we respond, how we dream (or don't)....it is the often unspoken reality of who we are as a people. I actually believe that the culture of an organization is speaking even before most people arrive.

So, here are a few things that I have been learning this year....a year that we have cast clear vision as a church!

  • I think there are healthy and unhealthy qualities in every culture. The difference between a specific church culture and an entire national culture is that the church is intended to represent Christ as His body....hence, it has the mandate to weed out and remove bad culture (namely unrighteousness). Although I think every church will struggle somewhere with this, we should never settle for bad culture. I don't ever want CCF to!
  • I believe that vision/purpose should form culture. Not the the other way around. I have seen CCF's purpose forming and reforming our culture this year. I think that is a great thing!
  • It is VERY difficult to change culture. Culture is more like a promise....you either make it or break it. So, if it's bad culture, you have to break it and the remake it.
  • I believe that unhealthy culture effects the leaders the fastest and hardest. Often others in the organization may not even feel it or know it's there. However, the leaders do and they strongly impact the temperature of the church. As a result, wounds will bleed and stain others. Don't kid yourself. I have learned that I do not hide it as well as I think. Defensiveness and "culture correction" can often happen passively in messages and other forums. I know because I have been guilty. I believe that leaders must find godly and healthy ways to break unhealthy culture!

In some upcoming posts, I will share clear descriptors/adjectives of what I see as healthy church culture and what I see as unhealthy church culture.

-Noah

Sunday's Notes on Friendship

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Principles of Friendship:

1. Focus more on being a friend than on making one! (v. 9)
2. Talk to your friends, not about them! (v. 12)
3. Be careful not to downplay the importance of online friendship; it’s prevalence is speaking!
4. Pay attention to who Jesus chose as friends! (Samaritans, sell-outs and sinners)
5. For the real deal, trust is a must! (See this post)

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV) (9) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: (10) If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! (11) Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? (12) Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Friend Day & Video

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Friend Day was a great success! Great service, wonderful food, an meaningful connections were made.....to each other and to the Lord. Our Worship Team did something yesterday that I have never seen! In the middle of the worship set, they played a shorter version of this video below. There was basically continual praise throughout the whole thing. It was powerful. Take the 6 minutes and watch this. It will cause your worship and love for God to increase! I want to meet this guy. This is a recording from many, many years ago, so the sound is weak, but the words are strong.

Full Day, Good Day

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It is a full day, but a good day. Had an International Team meeting this morning. Took Tricia out and got her a new cell phone this afternoon. Yeah Verizon! New every 2! She entered the palm world with her Hubby. She got the new Palm Centro. Tonight we are going out to the National Harbor for my sister Selah's birthday. She turns 30 on Monday! Wow! We are the closest in age of all the siblings. That means that I am almost 30 too! Time must slow down!

I hope that you are having a good weekend! Leave me a comment and tell me about it!

--Noah

Message Tomorrow

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See if you can fill in the blanks for tomorrow....

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV) (9) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: (10) If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! (11) Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? (12) Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

1. Focus more on ______________ a friend than on _____________ one! (v.9) You can make more friends in a month by being interested in them than you will in ten years by trying to get them interested in you.

2. Talk _______ your friends, not ____________ them! (v. 12) Gossip is when someone says something negative or unkind about someone who is not present, whether it is true or not.

3. Be careful not to downplay the importance of ________________ friendship; it’s prevalence is speaking! We were all born with the desire to connect!

4. Pay attention to who _______________ chose as friends! The church out to be safe place for the wounded, the sell-out and the sinner.

5. For the real deal, _______________ is a must!

What happened on September 11th?

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Was shocked tonight when Tricia shared with our Small Group that the 1st grade students that she teaches were not even born yet on September 11, 2001! Mrs, Kaye, what happened on September 11th? Wow! Someone else at Small Group tonight was telling us that they were teaching their 6 year old son about 9/11.

Am I the only one that finds this crazy!?! Time flies. I cannot believe it has been 7 years. I pray God's peace today for those impacted.

--Noah

Men of Purity

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Just learned the Pure Life Ministries is holding a "Men of Purity Weekend" at Trinity AG in Lanham at the end of this month. Looks like this will be a great event for men to grow in Christ and increase in purity. I want to attend and I am going to be inviting any men at CCF and beyond to attend with me. You can click here for more info such as exact date and time, etc.

Be listening and looking for more info on my blog, in the mini and announced at church. I would love to have you come along! Ladies....tell the men!

--Noah

I sold my anointing this morning!

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Now, here is a funny one! It has kept me laughing on and off all day....and I need to laugh right now.

My friend Ben asked me if he could buy my class books off of me because he has procrastinated in buying them (Go, Ben...procrastinators unite tomorrow!). I said yes. This morning he came to get them. Before he arrived I was running around the house searching for them. I found all but one. The one that I could not find was entitled "The Anointing" by R.T. Kendall.

I frantically texted him that "I had lost the anointing"! I told him that I was searching for it everywhere. Then I found it. Well, he stopped by and bought it from me for 10 bucks! Later he texted me..."I bought the anointing for 10 dollars!" My reply: A cheaper anointing cannot be found!

Moral of the story...you should never lose your anointing. And you should also never sell it for cheap to your friends!

Hope you got it and that it brought a smile to your face the way that it did mine.

--Noah

"Our First Missionary to India"

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Rabindra just sent me this note and picture from India. This is his lovely family. Pay special attention to the last sentence of the letter. Wow!

Pastor, this is my family picture!

My 13 year old daughter is the oldest, my son is 7 and my baby boy is 3 and running now! Remember us in your prayers and please ask the church to pray for us, your first missionary to India.

Yours in His Service
Rabindra Robinson

Convoy of Hope- Report

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I blogged about Convoy of Hope the other week. It was scheduled for this past Saturday....you know, the day that Hanna pounded DC. Well, the leadership of the event made a last minute decision to move it to Sunday. The weather was perfect and the event was a HUGE success. For more info, visit the site by clicking here! Or read Mark's thoughts here. Made the Post and the Times.

--Noah

Speak up

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Why is it so hard for some of us to be honest? Why are we afraid to speak up? I find that there have been times in meetings and relationships where I am hesitant to speak up and say what I believe in and I end up getting frustrated at myself. Listen, don't be so concerned about your self image that you hold back sharing what you really believe! Sure, you might be wrong...and if you are all it costs you is a little pride (which I tend to think we can all afford to give some away). But, hey, if you are right, the possibilities are endless. Be careful not to put fear and pride before who God has called you to be and what God has asked you to say. You have something to offer!! Speak up!

--Noah

Idols of the Heart

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I shared some on Sunday about Idols of the heart. I just touched the tip of the iceberg. I am indebted to Darrin Patrick for this material. Here is some stuff to think about.


An idol is something I serve instead of God - anything other than God that I put in the place of God - it can be anything - a relationship, image, role, political party, aspiration, hope, pleasure, a church...


We put our hope in idols - we draw comfort from them - we look to them for meaning.


We will either look to God or we will look to something else to find security and significance.


Most of the time, we are clueless about our idols (but we see others' clearly).

Here is how you know your idols the fastest…we know our idols when they are disturbed or threatened. Other good questions to ID the idols in your life:

  • What do you worry about most?
  • What, if I lost it, would make me not want to live?
  • What are my release valves?
  • What do I do to feel better?
  • Where does my mind go when it's free?
  • What do I daydream about?
  • What makes me feel the most self worth?
  • What do I want to be known for?
  • What do I lead into conversations with?
  • What do I talk with new people about?
  • What prayer, if unanswered, would make me think about turning away from God?
  • What is my hope for the future?

These are some things to think about. Here is what you can count on. You have some idols!! We all do! What are yours? How can you work toward replacing them with Jesus?

Proverbs for the day

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Read these proverbs today. Good stuff! The Proverbs have such an eloquent way of giving great advice!

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet, than a house full of feasting with strife! Proverbs 17:1

It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. Proverb 19:2

Discipline your son, for in it there is hope; do not be a willing party to he death. Proverbs 19:18

Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. Proverbs 23:19

Nash Family

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We did end the day right by having a family from the church over...the Nash's. Bernie and Cydne are going to serve with us as Small Group co-leaders for our Thursday night group! Really looking forward to that. Tricia cooked a great meal and we enjoyed the evening with them.

Oh, gotta tell you one more thing...Bernie is an author! He had a new book released just last week. The title: "Crossing the Bridge over Troubled Water." They brought me a copy tonight. Looking forward to reading it. Click here to get to Bernie's website and learn more.

I keep marveling at the gifted people at CCF! The longer I serve here, the more I get to know some amazing folks!

--Noah

My head is pounding

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One word defines the day I had today. Intense! I rarely get headaches, but I have one tonight. It was just an intense day. Had to deal with several things that required a pretty big outpouring of energy and emotion. Good things. Necessary things. Just draining. Need a good night sleep.

My heart is especially heavy tonight for a couple that lost their 1 week old baby today. Please pray for Darnette and Dwayne. The pain they must feel tonight could never be put into words.

--Noah